The oldest kid in the gallery, white-bearded Bernie Zubrowski watched as children poked, twirled and blew onto the inviting interactive sculptures he’s exhibiting at the Boston Children’s Museum.

"Yes,’’ shouted bright-eyed Gwendolyn Ogonosky as she raced toward a shiny "Rosette’’ of rotating circles connected at a hub like the gleaming outline of flower petals. "Yesssssss.’’

The curly-haired 2-year-old might have been hollering for all the young visitors enchanted that afternoon by Zubrowski’s "Arrangements of Motions."

An influential science educator and prolific author, the Littleton resident is showing six interactive sculptures that display different kinds of movements and perceptual effects.

"I’m mainly interested in things that move,’’ said the self-described "tinkerer.’’

Zubrowski stopped by a sculpture titled "Square Dance’’ that resembled an angular mobile made from gleaming flatirons and hangers. On closer observation, visitors will discover when certain pieces are pushed or spun, the sculpture rearranges itself into new shapes like square dancers dosey-doeing.

"I want visitors of all ages to watch carefully and see what effects they introduce by moving it,’’ he said. "I want visitors to think what a sculpture looks like when you look down on it and, then, think how it looks when it’s changing into something different.’’

Almost on cue, sisters Annabelle and Evelynn Argelis began playing with "Circle Dance,’’ eight metallic loops joined at their rim so they could revolve into different configurations.

"When you move it, it spins around into different shapes,’’ said 8-year-old Annabelle. "Like, like ….’’

"When it goes around in circles, it looks something like a flower,’’ interjected 6-year-old Evelynn who seemed very happy to be answering for her big sister.

Zubrowski designed exhibits for 23 years at the Boston Children’s Museum, creating "Bubbles’’ and "Raceways,’’ still-popular exhibits which have been replicated in museums around the world.

Exhibit designer Benjamin Durrell said Zubrowski was a key member of a generation of staff members who built upon the vision of former Director Michael Spock, who during his tenure from 1962 to 1985, promoted the concept on "hands on learning’’ and created the first interactive exhibit.

Spock, Zubrowski and others came to realize youngsters were more interested in exhibits that engaged their senses than merely looking at objects in a case or listening to a lecture.

From 1979 through 1999, Zubrowski wrote 17 children’s science books with titles such as "Shadow Play: Making Pictures With Light and Lens" and "Messing Around With Baking Chemistry.’’ His ideas have influenced science education around the world and earned him the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

In a statement about his sculptures, he wrote, "When I first started playing around with materials more than 25 years ago … I found what was most interesting to me was the aesthetic of movement. … I came to realize one theme kept recurring besides the aesthetics of the movement: This was the juxtaposition of multiple parts that were of the same shape. The question for me had been: How do the different parts move in relationship to me.’’

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Zubrowski pointed at two pieces hanging from the ceiling, "Protozoa #1 and #2 which he made from wire window screens and twisted into indefinable shapes that cast shadows on the white wall.

When the pieces are pushed or prodded, their shapes change as do their shadows on the wall, sometimes creating a complex phenomenon known as a Moire pattern which occurs when two grids are overlaid at an angle or have different sized meshes.

Martin Delmore watched as his two sons and daughter, from ages 5 to 10 years old, played with different sculptures, seeming to have invented a game without clear rules. "I like, for once, they’re not watching television or looking at a computer screen,’’ said the visitor from Baltimore.

The most popular sculpture last Wednesday seemed to be "Fractured Bodies,’’ a floor-to-ceiling-sized mirror made from more than 80 vertical stripes of glass.

While directions encourage youngsters to "blow gently or push the mirrors,’’ 2-year-old Sydney Schafer stepped partially behind the mirrors as if hiding behind a shower curtain.

"Look,’’ she called to family members visiting from Bradford, Pa. "Look at me.’’

Zubrowski said he designed the sculptures in the show to create an "aesthetic effect’’ rather then subconsciously teach a science lesson to children.

"This is more about art and experiencing different kinds of sculpture,’’ he said, watching children flitter about the gallery. "It’s about watching things over time and being inspired.’’